Beyond The Impossible

Honolulu, Hawaii

Bad news travel fast, and there have been many opportunities for that lately.

People are still struggling to understand the magnitude of the assault on Artemis: navies from a dozen countries, including China and the United States, have coordinated an attack on a single woman. And they lost.

Televisions are still showing images of sunken carriers, submarines thrown like javelins and warships torn to pieces with her bare hands. There are no living witnesses of the battle, which has caused the death of thousands of people: only the aftermath is telling the story.

But Hawaiians have a more pressing concern: a 15 feet tall red robot has just landed in front of a hospital. Understandably, the people running away are focusing on the robot and ignoring the African-American woman it has deposited inside the hospital after crashing the wall.

The robot’s chest opens to reveal its pilot: a half-Japanese girl in skimpy red leather clothes, with completely black eyes and a terrifying voice.

<Good news, Kayla: you’re a terrible super-hero, but you’re gonna make a great battery> she congratulates the woman, helping the robot carrying it inside the pilot’s seat.

Abyss is in terrible shape: the lack of sleep, rest, food and water are laying waste to her body.

She knows her continuous state of adrenaline rush is unsustainable, but it won’t matter for long.

With Blue Star defeated, the Vanguard banished and Artemis out of the picture, there is nobody else on Earth to stand up against her.

 

Kythera, 950 light-years from Earth

The three Talos robots immediately open fire. They recognize Vesta as the high priority target, being a goddess, so they all concentrate their firepower against her.

Torn is able to deflect one of the blasts with a sword, while Kari and her duplicates take Lysia and Laceration to safety. The latter may look like a teenage girl, but she’s much stronger than she looks: Kari needs to create six duplicates to move her against her will.

<This is pointless. We know we can’t defeat a single Talos, we can’t fight three> Quantum highlights, causing Kari to protest:

<Yes we know that, any suggestions!?>

<Fight harder> Torn answers.

<No. Fight smarter> Quantum replies, turning his whole body into something invisible.

The Talos robots look at each other, trying to get a confirmation. They all detected Quantum’s new form: he’s made of radio waves now. But there’s something puzzling in the signal, something they are compelled to study. That’s what they are programmed for: analyze any threat, find a weakness and exploit it. But the more they analyze the mathematical structure of the signal, the less they understand it.

Within seconds, they have dedicated so much computer power to the problem that their brains cease to function.

None of this can be seen with the naked eye. But when Quantum changes his body back to mere flesh and blood, the three Talos robots are dead.

<This isn’t possible!> Talas Khanos shouts, too shocked to remember to use his telekinetic powers.

<Don’t forget to tell your boss you screwed up again> Quantum says before punching Khanos in the face. The Oracle is knocked out and falls, defeated even faster than his minions.

<Not bad> Torn nods.

<Not bad!? Didn’t you see what I just did? That was AWESOME!!!> Quantum screams, with a cheerful high-five from Kari. Lysia is speechless: the Mortal Liberation Front has seen entire worlds fall before just one Talos.

<How in the galaxy did you do that!?> she asks.

<Noriko’s math thing. I knew writing it down on my phone was going be useful someday.>

Quantum congratulates himself. Vesta, however, has more pressing issues.

<We can’t stay here long. The other Talos are bound to come looking for us.>

<So what? We have the formula> Kari notes.

<No, she’s right: the Talos can strike from orbit if necessary. It’s unlikely we’ll be able to deactivate all of them before they scorch the entire planet. We have to leave> Lysia explains, walking towards the large stone circle at the center of the cave.

As she approaches, something on her left forearm glows. A symbol that Vesta recognizes.

<The Ankh. I thought the Front despised gods; why are you working for the House of Ra?>

<I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is an Infinity Key> Lysia says, moving her arm to position the symbol in front of the gate and clenching her fist. The gate fills up with blue energy, the same hue of the Heart of the Universe.

<It looked better in the movie> Quantum laments.

<Let’s move, people. This won’t stay open for long> Lysia explains.

<We should take the Talos with us. The last thing we want is Hephaestus looking into their heads and discover a way to counter the formula> Vesta suggests, carrying one of the robots over her shoulder despite its considerable weight; Laceration ties up the remaining two with an energy whip, while Kari has not taken her eyes off Talas Khanos since he was knocked out.

<Everything okay?> Quantum asks her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

<You have no idea what this madman did to my people. It would be so easy to kill him now…>

<It’s not what Null would want> he reminds her. He doesn’t like to exploit Kari’s quasi-religious adoration of Noriko…but he doesn’t want her to do something she’d regret later.

<Let’s just go home> she concedes, but not without spitting on Khanos first.

Torn stands by the gate, watching everyone disappear through the portal. He’s the last before Lysia, but he hesitates and gives her an inquisitory look.

<This “Infinity Key”, this “Ankh”. It’s not Drylon, isn’t it? It’s Egyptian, and you know it.>

<You’re the last person who can question someone holding secrets, Torn.>

<If the Olympians discover that the Egyptians have a way to control Drylon technology, it could start another Celestial War.>

<And who is going to tell them?>

As he often does, Torn doesn’t say anything. But his glacial stare before crossing the portal speaks volumes: he will definitely keep an eye on her.

 

Solar system asteroid belt, 400 million miles from Earth

The Supreme Scorpion comes to a halt, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The closest asteroid is thousands of miles away and far too dark to be visible.

Kari’s fingers move quickly on the touchscreen, selecting the ship’s autopilot to monitor any minor asteroid and move the Supreme Scorpion to avoid impacts.

<There, that should do it. We’re too far away from Earth to be detected, but close enough to communicate so I won’t get bored being here all alone> she says, creating a duplicate of herself just behind her chair who starts to massage her shoulders.

<Well, relatively alone. Hey, why the sad face?> she asks to Todd Slate, Noriko’s public relations guy, who is staring into space with a sad expression. Yet another Kari duplicate appears next to him; he’s known her long enough not to be bothered by it.

<Before I took this job, the world made sense to me. Now I know the Greek gods are real and I’m on a spaceship talking to someone who was born on another planet. Do you have any idea what’s going to happen when people find out about this?>

<I guess they’ll have to accept it. It’s not like they can ignore the entire galaxy forever> she shrugs.

<No kidding. Look at this> her duplicates intervenes, loading the images intercepted by the ship.

It’s footage of Artemis attacking Beijing.

 

Midway Islands, Pacific Ocean

A motorbike is flying at the speed of sound a few inches above the water. Noriko Null is driving, currently possessing the body of her mother Leiko, while Black Knight is holding on to her. He hasn’t said a word the whole trip.

<Can I ask you a question, ninja guy?> she says, her words transmitter by radio through the communicating device inside the man’s mask.

<My name is not “ninja guy”. I am Black Knight.>

<How much do you know about my mother’s work? I mean, you know about gods and aliens?>

<I do. I am the highest military officer of the Empire of Shadows.>

<What do you think’s gonna happen when people discover that gods are real?>

<They already know. They just call them “super-heroes”. Why do you ask? Are you planning to reveal the truth to the world?>

<I dunno. I’ve been thinking about it. What do you think?>

<Why are you asking me? We are enemies.>

<Just bouncing off ideas. I think that HOLY S##T!!!> she shouts, changing direction at the last second to dodge an unforeseen obstacle: the prow of a heavy cruiser, detached from the rest of the ship, that’s been tossed aside like a discarded toy.

She manages to avoid further obstacles, slowing down considerably to assess the damage. There are tons upon tons of wreckage all over the place, and thousands of corpses floating in the water.

Her face pales in pure and utter shock. Black Knight doesn’t say a single word.

<All these…people…>

<Alright, I guess I got a little carried away.>

The woman who just talked is standing over the water, smiling menacingly. Black Knight immediately draws his gun and shoots her in the face: she doesn’t even blink.

<Seriously? That’s both funny and pathetic at the same…wait > she comments before getting a little closer, looking intensely at the woman’s eyes. She looks like Leiko, but her eyes are different.

<You’re not who you appear to be.>

<Neither are you. What are you doing inside the body of Artemis, Eris?>

<Oh you’re good. It’s the voice, isn’t it? I really have to do something about it. Yes, I am Eris, and I am a goddess once more.>

<I thought you were the goddess of discord, not mindless violence. Why kill these people?>

<Like I said, I got carried away. But don’t worry, it won’t happen again: I’m leaving Earth for good.>

<Disguised as Artemis to escape your punishment from Zeus> Noriko realizes.

<The only people still alive who know the truth are Abyss, Kayla…and you.>

<Is that a threat?>

<In exchange for this body, I promised this world to Abyss. I do the same to you: whoever wins the battle will be the ruler of Earth in my eyes.>.

<That’s it!? After all you’ve done, you expect me to just let you leave!?>

<No. I expect you to prepare yourself for the storm that’s coming.>

Eris leaves, flying towards the sky and disappearing beyond it. She leaves orbit in a few seconds.

There is only silence for what feels like an eternity. Just the sea and the engine. Eris wasn’t exaggerating: she didn’t leave anyone alive…except Noriko and Black Knight.

<Now what? Do you have a plan?> he asks.

<I’m working on it> Noriko answers, moving away from the battleground and towards her previous destination: Hawaii.

Over the horizon, dark clouds are gathering above the entire archipelago. Black clouds which constantly reshape themselves, agitated by red lightning.

<Oh. I guess she wasn’t being metaphorical.>